As some conservatives increasingly argue for an ever larger state to support "families" and "society," Burke showed through both words and personal actions that the real answer to building up civil society lies in the private sector and not in government programs.

Among themselves, libertarians often see important dividing lines among various factions in terms of social views and lifestyles. But most on the outside define libertarianism as being overwhelmingly for one thing: excessive and "dogmatic" devotion to free markets.